For a child, one of the most upsetting things that can happen at the beach is for a toy to be lost. It often happens before we realize what is taking place, as the wind and the waves quickly carry something away.
It seems as if that recently happened to a group of children when their soccer ball was washed out to sea. They were upset temporarily but eventually, they got over it. Little did they know that their soccer ball would save a man’s life.
There was a man who was lost at sea and he was in the water for quite some time. It happened 10 days after the soccer ball was lost and fortunately, he was able to find it as it floated by.
He did more than find the soccer ball, he managed to stay afloat as he held onto the soccer ball for 18 hours. The Independent is reporting that the man’s name is Ivan and he is from North Macedonia.
He was in the water off of the coast of Kassandra, Greece but was pulled out to sea when strong currents came by. It was some 80 miles away from where the ball was first lost.
His friends contacted the Coast Guard and let them know that he had disappeared. Authorities eventually declared him lost at sea but that didn’t keep him from struggling.
Fortunately, Ivan was able to stay on top of the water because of the small soccer ball that was in the waves nearby. Later, after he was rescued, he found out that the ball came from about 80 miles away from the Greek island of Lemnos.
11-year-old Tryphon was playing ball with a six-year-old Thanos when the ball got lost. 10 days later, the ball was 80 miles away and it was able to save Ian’s life. Even his legs were too tired to keep kicking, but the ball kept him on top of the water.
It took some time but a Greek Air Force helicopter was able to spot him. He had already been at sea for 18 hours. After he was rescued he was taken to the hospital to recover.
Funny enough, the boy’s mother saw a picture on the news and was able to identify the ball that was lost by her son about 10 days earlier. She said: “I had constant information on the course of the rescue and am very happy about the smooth ending of the young man’s adventure.”
“The young man found a ball that saved his life as he helped him when he got tired.”
Source: The Independent